Monday Metabolic Kickstarter Challenge Workout

The great philosopher and lasagna-lover, Garfield the Cat, once said, “I hate Mondays.” And there are many reasons to not like Monday. You have an increased risk of having a heart attack, getting into a car accident, and having to go to work. 😉

On the other hand, I love Mondays. They give us all a FRESH start to get back on track, and you’ll love Mondays too once you see the workout I’m giving you today. But first, I have to tell you about one thing you must NOT do on Mondays.

“Almost everyone gains weight on weekends and loses weight on weekdays,” says Science Daily. A Cornell University study from the journal Obesity Facts looked at the weight patterns of 80 Americans between the ages of 25-62 years old. Results showed that subjects weighed the most on Monday and the least on Friday.

Indulging over the weekend, especially with high-sodium and high-carb foods that cause you to store water weight, gives you an inaccurate picture of your progress. So don’t worry about weekend weight gain. After all, if a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories, that means you’d have to eat SEVEN Big Macs worth of food (above what you normally eat) to gain a pound over the weekend. Not even Bally the Dog could eat that much extra food.

So here’s what you need to do with this advice. Do NOT step on the scale on Monday morning. Instead, stick to a Weekly Wednesday Weigh-In for an accurate measure of your progress. You will get faster results if you weigh-in regularly because it helps keep you on track.

Now back to why I love Mondays. The first day of the week is when our muscles are well rested and our minds are highly motivated. This means we should have our best workout of the week.

That’s why I’m giving you a Monday Challenge Workout today. You’ll do as many reps as possible in one minute for each exercise. Record your score and come back in 4 weeks and test yourself again. When you lose fat and use my new Metabolic Kickstarter workouts, you’ll improve your score in EVERY exercise. Enjoy…and have an amazing week.

Craig’s #1 Monday Challenge Workout
1) Total Body Extensions
2) Pushups
3) Bodyweight Squats
4) Rocking Plank
– Do as many repetitions as possible for each exercise for one minute each.
– Do NOT rest between exercises.
– Do NOT weigh yourself on Mondays. ☺
– Advanced: Add 1 minute of pull-ups, chin-ups, or bodyweight rows to the start of the circuit.
– Beginner Options: You can use kneeling or wall pushups in place of pushups and wall squat holds or stability ball leg curls in place of TBX’s and squats if you’d like.

BTW, here’s some amazing feedback about the new Metabolic Kickstarter workout videos…

“Craig, I officially started ‘Shreddin for my Wedding’ and am LOVING the new workout videos! Thanks so much. I have just completed the first 5 days. It is perfect for my crazy schedule because it’s hard to make excuses when your workout is only 15 min long! That plank to tricep extension I did tonight was deceptively hard. Keeping my diet clean with mainly protein and veggies and some fruit…and maybe some wine ;-). Can’t wait to see you at the wedding and thanks again for creating the awesome workouts!” – Ali Golds

And a common reader question…

Q: “Hi Craig. I have been using you TT 2.0 dumbbell program and recently started Metabolic Kickstarter. Can I combine these programs and if so how? Thank you. Btw. I love all of your programs especially the follow along ones.” – Marge Groom

Answer:
Hi Marge! Great question. On 2 non-TT days, you can do the Metabolic Kickstarter sessions or you could add a 4-min or 6-minute Kickstarter Specialization Circuit to the end of a TT workout. That’s enough. Thanks again!

Social support is a HUGE factor for your success. However, just as important as getting support is removing negative influences in your life. This may be painful. You might not want to give up hanging out with lazy friends that eat junk all the time, but if it is killing you and making you fat and unhappy, it MUST stop. Same with work friends. If all they do is sit round and complain, then you can’t be in that environment. Don’t hang around losers who don’t want you to succeed. Cut the cord quickly. It’s less painful than drawing things out.

And if you MUST spend time with negative people, learn how to change the subject, deflect the criticism, ignore the opinions, to change their minds and moods, and to drown out their demotivation. Search out positive people and experiences.

YES, there are good people out there that believe in you and want to see you succeed. They are here at TT, they are in your gym, at your church, and even at work…step up, live and lead by example, and you will attract good people into your world. This is your ONE and ONLY life.

Make the right decisions, right now, for your right life. You can do it. I believe in you.

Craig Ballantyne has been the Editor of Early to Rise since 2011. He’s also a Strength & Conditioning coach in Toronto, author of Turbulence Training, a contributing author to Men’s Health magazine, and a member of the Training Advisory Board for Maximum Fitness and Oxygen magazines. TurbulenceTraining.com features Craig’s best-sell...